LONDON – Bracewell (UK) LLP was named the Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe for Infrastructure at the Financial Times (FT) Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2025, which were announced on September 19 in London. Bracewell was honored for its representation of CrossBoundary Energy and Trident Energy in two landmark African transactions.
Bracewell advised CrossBoundary Energy on a $300 million senior debt commitment from Standard Bank of South Africa to expand its renewable energy portfolio, which was the standout winner for infrastructure. The first pan-African senior secured portfolio financing for greenfield assets, the deal – led by Gordon Stewart and Tom Jamieson – was structured for commercial and industrial users, showing how private funders can advance renewable adoption across Africa without sovereign guarantees. The firm led the structuring of the financing solution to accommodate the nature and geography of the generation assets and the variety of offtake arrangements that underpin the financing. Such financial structures provide scalable, affordable solutions that unlock reliable power for businesses, enabling CrossBoundary to expand energy-as-a-service (EaaS) across Africa and enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of its customers.
In addition, Bracewell was highly commended in the Awards’ Innovative Lawyers in Dealmaking category for its representation of Trident Energy, L.P. on a series of three interrelated transactions in the Republic of Congo and Angola. Led by partner Darren Spalding, Bracewell’s cross-border team devised a novel acquisition financing structure that, despite a tightening market, enabled Trident Energy to close the deals on the same day in January 2025, without formal inter-conditionality. The trio of deals included the acquisition of Chevron’s entire upstream oil and gas business in the Republic of Congo and two asset-level transactions with TotalEnergies.
“The deal for Trident required an innovative tapestry of funding sources,” Spalding told the Financial Times. “None of these elements are individually unexpected or difficult, but the combination of all of them in a single deal made it uniquely challenging.”
Now in its 20th year, the FT Innovative Lawyers Europe Awards recognize law firms and in-house teams for innovation and leadership in innovation, strategy, digital transformation, sustainability, talent and positive change. This year, nearly 600 submissions were made, and more than 114 law firms and companies were included in this year’s honors.
